Apple Sues Samsung Over Look & Feel

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Why reinvent the wheel when it's the most efficient size, shape and functionally perfect? For that matter, why stray too far away from Apple's mobile-device interface?

Samsung is about to find out the answer to the latter. Apple is suing the company for its alleged "look and feel" infringement on iPad and iPhone user interface and functionality.

Samsung, an integral part of Apple's product-supply pipeline, released the Galaxy Touch recently to a little fanfare -- and a lot of legal papering. Samsung runs on Google's Android operating system, of course, so that brings in another competitive thread.

Silicon Alley Insider contends that "fast-following and imitating is a big part of what makes free markets work." Another phrase for that, embodied in Chinese gray markets, specifically, is knock-off.

Imitating look and feel is different than innovating on existing look and feel.

SIA's most salient takeaway is that any suit from a big company is expensive to fend. Another is that a lawsuit settlement puts a price on a good or service, and that Microsoft's Android suit may achieve the same consequence: making "freemium" models less disruptive.